Science and Lightbulb cafés return for fall semester

By Jacquie Posey

This fall, some of Penn’s top scholars will illuminate thought-provoking issues in the “hard” and “soft” sciences in a series of free public forums—the Penn Science Café and its sister lecture series, the Penn Lightbulb Café.

The lectures, held on Tuesday evenings at World Cafe Live Upstairs, 3025 Walnut St., are free and open to the public. Each hour-long talk begins at 6 p.m. and is followed by an audience Q&A session. Café goers can come early to enjoy 5 to 7 p.m. happy hour specials. Seating is limited. To register, contact Gina Bryan at 215-898-8721 or email bryangm@upenn.edu.

On Sept. 10, Robert Kurzban, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, will deliver the first Penn Science Café talk of the semester, “Willpower or Won’t-power: The Science of Self Control.” His talk will focus on his research into debunking the idea that people have a "reserve" of willpower that gets used up in the face of adversity.

Nicola Mason, an assistant professor of medicine and pathology in the School of Veterinary Medicine, will discuss “Hunting with the Hounds: How Dogs Lead the Way in the Search for Effective Cancer Therapies” at the Oct. 22 Science Café.

Penn Current Express

Quoted Recently

“More companies are asking how they can separate themselves from the organization and instead tighten their connection to the game. The brand of FIFA is problematic but the game of soccer is still popular.”

— Kenneth L. Shropshire, director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative, on how the FIFA corruption scandal has caused some sponsors to be less concerned about partnering with the powerful soccer organization. FIFA tends to have the most leverage when negotiating deals with companies, but experts are wondering whether sponsors will be able to demand clauses that allow them to leave in cases of corruption. (The Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2015)